The old Lowe’s building in Clarendon Plaza that now houses three businesses is getting a face lift and will be expanding soon.

Brynn Thomas of Thomas Development Inc., which manages the property for Trent Land Co., said workers are putting a new façade on the building, which houses Gold’s Gym, The Dollar Tree, Carolina Diabetic Supply, and, until recently, the 32,000-sqare-foot New River Pottery. That business has moved to Jacksonville.

The lease on the plaza property, which was held by Lowe’s when it was located there, reverted to the original owner, Trent Land Co., on June 30, Thomas said.

“We thought it needed a fresh, new face on it,” he said.

Owners of businesses in the building are excited about the changes, Thomas said.

“It’s a win-win for them,” he said. “We were not under any obligation to do this under the lease. But we felt it needed to be done. That location is a superb location in New Bern, and we felt we needed to update it. They were all excited about it.”

Drew Freeman, manager of Gold’s Gym, which has been Clarendon Plaza for about 14 years, said he was excited about the changes taking place.

“I haven’t seen the plans yet, but I think it’s awesome,” Freeman said. “Anytime you get a new look, it is going to do good, not just for the business, but all around. I can’t wait to see what it looks like.”

Once the façade is completed, probably by mid-September or October, expansion of the building will take place, Thomas said.

Plans began several months ago for a 10,000-square-foot addition to the building between Gold’s Gym and McCarthy Boulevard. The initial plans were to divide the 10,000 square feet of new space into a 5,000-square-foot section, with the remaining 5,000 square feet divided into five 1,000-square-foot units for shops and businesses, Thomas said.

But that could change as prospective businesses decided to move in, he said.

Thomas said he has had talks with business owners interested in moving to that area.

The building was originally built for Lowe’s, but the hardware business only stayed there about seven years before moving to its present location.

Eddie Fitzgerald can be reached at 252-635-5675 or at eddie.fitzgerald@newbernsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @staffwriter3.